1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and particularly to an electrical connector assembly having a circuit board therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Printed circuit boards are sometimes included in electrical connector assemblies for high speed, high density communication applications since the circuit boards can modify the electrical characteristics, such as impedance and inductance, of the connector assembly to meet system requirements. Conventionally, such assemblies include a first circuit board and a second circuit board, each circuit board having contacts soldered along two edges thereof. One side of each first and second circuit board is connected to a main circuit board of a corresponding first and second electrical device. A second side of the first circuit board is then connected to a second side of the second circuit board, whereby the two electrical devices are electrically connected together.
A prior art electrical connector assembly of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,899.
The price of a high density, high speed connector assembly of this type is high because the cost of the contacts and the cost of soldering the contacts to the circuit boards is high.
Hence, an improved electrical connector assembly is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a high speed, high density electrical connector assembly which is easy to manufacture and has a low cost.
In order to achieve the above object, an electrical connector assembly includes a receptacle connector and a plug connector. The receptacle connector comprises a dielectric first housing, a dielectric second housing, and a plurality of parallel circuit boards, grounding members, and signal terminals received therein. The first housing comprises two sidewalls and a plurality of inner walls parallel to the two sidewalls defining a plurality of passageways therebetween. The second housing comprises two sidewalls and a plurality of partitions formed parallel to the two sidewalls, thereby defining a plurality of grooves therebetween. Each circuit board is received in a corresponding passageway and a corresponding groove, and has a plurality of first golden fingers aligned in a row parallel to a mating direction with the plug connector and a plurality of second golden fingers aligned in a row perpendicular to said mating direction, wherein each first golden finger connects with a terminal fixed in the second housing. Upper and lower flanges extend forwardly from a top and a bottom of a mating face of the first housing. Both the upper and lower flanges each define a plurality of recesses therein.
The plug connector has a dielectric housing and a plurality of grooves defined in the dielectric housing. Each groove receives a front end of one of the circuit boards. A plurality of terminals and grounding members are fixed in the dielectric housing of the plug connector, extending into the grooves thereof and engaging with the second golden fingers. The plug connector has two lateral walls at two ends thereof, and two slots, each slot adjacent toa corresponding lateral wall. Each slot receives a corresponding one of the upper and lower flanges. Each lateral wall further forms a plurality of protrusions which fit into the recesses defined in the flanges of the first housing of the receptacle connector.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.